The plane rose from Merida, our last stop in Mexico. The pilot circled to glimpse the pyramid-type Mayan ruins outside this hot, tropical city of the Yucatan lowlands.
Soon we were thousands of feet up, climbing through the high mountain passes of Guatemala, headed south toward Guatemala City.
Our wing tips seemed almost to touch the rugged mountain peaks. We could see the effects of erosion where forests had been cut long ago, and the torrential rains had washed away the soil.
Patches of corn grew up and down the steep hillsides. Here and there, an Indian’s thatched hut perched precariously.
The perfect cone of Agua volcano came into view, and Guatemala City spread below us on its 5000-foot plateau, surrounded by mountains, three 12,000-foot volcanoes, and a series of deep ravines.
From our first view of its jagged mountains, we loved Guatemala. The sleepy plazas of the highland towns at noon, the gentle Indians in their bright native garb, the steaming jungles of the coastal banana country, and the alpine meadows of the great big passes all offer tremendous contrasts.
Guatemala Is a Country of Brilliant Hues
In the textiles of the Indians and the luxuriant tropical and temperate flowers blooming in gardens, parks, and along the roadsides, garish colors seem to blend in this land of brilliant sunshine, blue sky, and ever-present volcanoes sometimes topped with clouds.
The best time to visit this “Switzerland of the tropics” is during the dry season from early November to the end of March, although the roads get dusty the last month or so.
It rains only an hour or so each day during the rainy season, from May to October. The only disadvantage, then, is that some of the tortuous mountain roads wash out into the deep barrancas or ravines, and the only way to visit some of the mountain towns that fascinate most travelers is to fly.
Chichicastenango Mountain Village
The most famous mountain village is Chichicastenango, a center of life since the earliest days of Mayan settlement. On the steps and inside the great church of Santo Tomas, groups of natives in colorful costumes kneel before lighted candles during religious ceremonies.
In the teeming marketplace on Thursdays and Sundays, natives in tribal dress from different districts sell Indian crafts from distant villages and towns. The Mayan Inn is a modern hotel and a showplace of Spanish colonial art.
In Quetzaltenango, the center of the wheat-growing area 8000 feet above sea level, the central plaza is bright with dahlias, delphiniums, roses, and other flowers. Its sleepy hotel has a lovely patio. The evenings are cold here.
A trip to the larger mountain towns usually includes a stop at Lake Atitlan, 17 miles wide and framed by three great volcanoes—a breathtaking picture.
Nearby in the sleepy village of Panajachel, we had lunch at the Casa Contenta hotel, then climbed the twisting mountain road past the glistening waterfall, and, taking a last view of the lake, turned toward the rather withdrawn village of Solola and on to Antigua.
Trip To Antigua
Even in a short visit to Guatemala, we recommend a trip to Antigua, the ancient capital city destroyed in 1773 by a volcanic eruption.
Today the smaller active city is surrounded by the ruins of the great churches and colonial buildings of past centuries, some of which are still intact.
Rancho Nimajay’s lovely gardens and swimming pool is a good places to have lunch. And if you have time, plan a visit to one of the fine coffee fincas outside the city. Coffee is an important export, and some of the best quality is grown at this altitude.
Leaving Antigua by the older route south around the mountains, you come to Palin, where a tremendous ceiba tree shades the market square. From there, you pass Lake Amatitlan, smaller than Lake Atitlan but also a glistening jewel.
If you go by Moran, don’t be surprised if you think you see white morning glories on leafless trees. This is ipomoea arborescens, a real tree morning glory.
A gardener who knows plants well will be at home here, for the vegetation varies with every thousand feet of altitude. For example, in the tropical rainforest, philodendrons with very large, often deeply cut leaves climb 40′ feet into the trees.
Farther up is the land of tree ferns. In some places, you will spot lantanas growing wild along the road and possibly a wild dahlia jutting from some craggy mountainside.
On the road to the high pass above the alpine meadows with their wiry grasses, you come to the land of gaunt, bare-branched, lichen-covered trees dripping weirdly with a bit of Spanish moss.
The twisting road drops down again, and you search the trees to see your first wild orchid.
Wild Orchids In Guatemala City
But you are more likely to see your first wild orchids in Guatemala City—in pots carried in a pack on an Indian’s back as he plods barefoot along Sixth Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the downtown shopping section.
Or you may see them in large and small pots in the great Mercado Central flower stalls, which fills two whole blocks.
Here, you can buy wares from every remote district of the country—flowers, native foods, textiles, wool blankets, carved mahogany, pottery, silver jewelry with intricate Mayan designs, and fine leatherwork.
You’ll need one of the woven baskets for your purchases, for Guatemala is a shoppers’ paradise.
In downtown Guatemala City, the gardens are enclosed patio gardens. But you can see the suburban gardens from a taxi window.
As you drive out the Boulevard La Reforma, you will see brilliant cannas, marigolds, begonias, acanthosis, and other red foliage plants in long beds in the center and at the sides of the street—shining broad-leaved evergreens of many exotic kinds line other wide avenues.
In open yards, tall African tulip trees stand here and there, their large clusters of bright orangey-red flowers scattered at the top.
What You See In The Suburbs
In the suburbs, you will see open-yard gardens. Each property is enclosed with its protective wall, some dripping with brilliant bougainvilleas in clear red, orange, or Vermillion.
Only now and then will you see the more common magenta bougainvillea, which clambers over the red tile roofs of smaller village houses in the countryside.
Large-flowering sweet peas are popular. Roses are everywhere and of tremendous size. Poinsettias grow tall and wild in empty lots.
Large-flowering cultivated ones are used for accents near doorways, in corners of yards, and at the ends of flower borders mixed with brilliant-colored annuals. In outlying towns, many of the smaller native stucco houses are brightened with tall poinsettias.
No matter what time of the year you visit Guatemala, it will be like spring. The temperature averages 60° to 68° all year except in the tropical coastal areas.
You can fly to Guatemala City by Pan American Clipper from New Orleans, Miami, or the West Coast via Mexico City. In addition, the United Fruit Company has a weekly cruise from New Orleans, and freighters carrying twelve passengers leave New York about every week.
They land you at Puerto Barrios, and you either fly the 200 miles up to Guatemala City in an hour by local airlines or take a train (ten hours).
There are good travel agencies in Guatemala City that will plan your side trips. Or you can hire a car for about $25 a day to travel inland.
Once you’ve seen the lakes, the mountains, the jungles, the luxuriant plant life, the soft-spoken Indians, and the charming Spanish people, you’ll want to go back to Guatemala.
44659 by Betty Blossom